<p>Good Morning all… Such exciting news!
Tuition insurance is automatically billed at many expensive privates, But it can be waived. We bought it once- freshman year. It cost about $75 and made writing that huge check a little less anxiety provoking. We also waived health insurance as our work health benefits meet the university criterion. </p>
<p>The dorm packing list is a good one. 1 set of sheets will work, but I still sent. 2 sets. Skip dish towels- a roll of paper towels will work. Not sure extra lightbulbs need to be brought. There is usually a Target or Walgreens type of store kids can get to. Try not to pack lots of odds and ends. It just adds to the chaos of staying organized.</p>
<p>Read the dorm list carefully before buying a fridge. Many come with ,or require renting of, a micro-fridge. The micro diverts power from fridge when in use- requires less energy.</p>
<p>@12dandelion we didn’t end up doing the shelf-stable milk because he was able to get milk at a little shop near his dorm using his “dining dollars” so I don’t think he had many milk emergencies (and the shelf-stable stuff is kinda gross). He’s not really a big hiker or anything but I knew he wouldn’t wear real winter boots to class (his feet would get too hot) so I got him warmish waterproof hiking boots as a compromise instead of wearing sneakers all winter like he did in HS (when he had much less walking outside to do, so it didn’t matter so much) and he does wear those. Cornell has a huge campus, and it was a mile from his dorm to the engineering quad (that we walked so many times on ASD!) so he needed decent stuff just to get to class. I sent the long underwear because we had it, but I doubt he used it for anything. He ended up doing a lot of rock climbing, but indoors on their rock walls.</p>
<p>We also haven’t bought any gear yet, because UVM was our first stop on our final decision tour, so the decision wasn’t made yet. But it turns out he’s invited to campus in a few weeks for an event unrelated to his matriculation there, so he can pick something up then. His grandparents have said to buy something from them.</p>
<p>@mathmomvt—did you buy Timberland boots or more like REI or EMS hiking shoes? A lot of boys wear those clunky light tan-colored Timberlands to school here during the winter but they seem so heavy for walking long distances. </p>
<p>I will say that college students must be fairly oblivious as I lived four years in those cold-conducting LL Bean boots. They now sell them with liners but really, the rubber bottoms just conducted the cold. When I wore out one pair, I bought another.</p>
<p>Beware that both my son and I are oblivious to fashion/style, so they’re probably completely wrong for someone who cares about that stuff. I don’t know what “everyone” at Cornell wears.</p>
<p>My son went from mid-atlantic winters to Rochester winters. Here’s what are must haves: long silk underwear for under jeans, we got him a 3 level coat from northface - a fleece under jacket, a shell over that, a down coat on top of that - not as big and bulky as you’d think. That way it can go all year depending on the weather. I got him gloves with the fingertip thing so you can still work electronics, cashmere scarves to wrap around his face and lots of hats. And of course good boots that won’t get completely demolished by the salt on the sidewalks. He goes through several pairs of sneakers a year because of that.</p>
<p>If your kid will be doing any sort of adventure/outdoors orientation program, now would be a good time to buy them a good pair of waterproof hiking boots so they can start breaking them in. They also work well as cold/wet/lightly snowy weather footwear. You can get some great deals at Sierra Trading Post. Got D1 (now a junior) a quality pair for under $100 at the end of senior year of high school --I’ve seen pictures of her tromping across the globe wearing those same boots. Time to do the same for D2.</p>
<p>It’s OK to wait to buy cold weather gear. D1 went shopping (Boston) with friends during fall semester, when stores were stocked back up. If your kid cares at all about fashion or just fitting in, I vote for waiting and seeing what everyone else wears (though you never go wrong with a black North Face Denali fleece jacket).</p>
<p>Congrats on a decision @2016BarnardMom. Very happy for you and your son. </p>
<p>More good news for you @Overtheedge. Sounds as if Sewanee is doing everything they can to make your D’s experience a good one. </p>
<p>How cool is that @AKmom that your daughter and her great grandfather will graduate 100 years apart. Sounds as if Brown was just meant to be.</p>
<p>Welcome to the best thread on CC @Bestmominmiami! The reason everyone is cautioning you to wait on buying winter clothes is that the apparel and gear one can buy in warmer climates such as Florida and California is substantially different than what is sold in stores in the very cold areas of the country. Of course you can always purchase coats and boots online. Just a few of the good cold weather brands are North Face, Columbia, anything on LLBean or Lands End.</p>
<p>@momreads - congrats to your son’s #1 slot - that’s an amazing achievement!</p>
<p>@2014Novamom - Another CC parent steered me away from those packaged sheets as they don’t seem to be of very good quality. YMMV.</p>
<p>Thanks @mathmomvt – that is what I had in mind when I mentioned EMS/REI type of hiking shoe.<br> @eyemamom – I hadn’t considered the effect of salt on sneakers. Note to self….</p>
<p>I bought him one of those three-in-one North Face jackets but I think it only consists of the zip-out fleece. He may be looking for something warmer by Thanksgiving. He won’t wear a hat but loves hoods. I went around Ithaca w/o a hat or a hood, but always wearing a turtleneck. Again, oblivious….</p>
<p>@SlitheyTove – my boys had those Denali fleece jackets in late elementary and middle school but once they hit HS, they abandoned those in favor of just sweatshirts. (Yes, it snowed quite a bit here this winter!) No one uses lockers so they end up wearing their jackets to school, so few wear jackets. </p>
<p>The first upstate NY winter will be a cruel awakening. </p>
<p>@CT1417 Spykid is also a big fan of just hoodies. But when he went snowshoeing in the mountains this winter I forced him to get a jacket, that he now loves. It’s a Columbia Sportswear omni heat jacket, so it reflects body temperature back to the wearer. It’s lighter and warmer. Of course he was in low temps but not below zero so your son may need a heavier version. They also make base layers with the same technology. I have a hat and gloves with omni heat and and I love them.</p>
<p>For lamps or overhead lighting that comes with the room, the dorm probably provides replacement lightbulbs as well. I’m not sure if DS ever used the ones we sent, but Ithaca is a bit of a pain to get around without a car. They get free use of the city buses with the school ID (freshman year only, I think, for some reason) but DS did find it a pain to get into town for things when he needed them. How much your kid will want to bring (extra batteries, lightbulbs, etc.) will depend partly on what’s convenient to the school. But everything listed under “go to box” was packed in one pretty small plastic tote, so organization wasn’t an issue. </p>
<p>Oh also, I think I put a list in the top of each box saying what was inside, so he would be able to see at a glance if he already had the thing he needed. One thing we didn’t send that he did end up needing were some envelopes and stamps. Occasionally we’d need to have him send us something – maybe a medical bill to submit to insurance, or a signed for to go into his IDOC packet for the next year, etc. Although there were places to get such things on campus, they worked normal business hours, which turned out to be a challenge for my DS. It was funny the first time he realized he couldn’t go buy stamps at 10 p.m. or something like that.</p>
<p>DH and I discussed but did not send DS11 with condoms. They’re pretty easy to get on campus, and we figured that was his responsibility. That said we might send some with DS14 as he’s a bit more impulsive than his older brother, though I honestly can’t imagine him making that particular poor decision (to have unprotected sex).</p>
<p>Congrats on everyone’s good news! I have got the figits. My son and I are debating via text messages how/when he needs to confirm his acceptance of admission. I told him I need to see either a) his letter of acceptance which should have the details of how to confirm or b) a place on the campus portal that shows that he has confirmed. The school’s website is distressingly vague. I am trying NOT to call the admissions office, but may cave by the end of the day.</p>
<p>How about some advice for my D who will be heading from nasty Michigan winters to Nashville? I have heard that a good raincoat and waterproof shoes/boots would be needed…probably no long underwear! Any other tips?</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom: I missed the final decision. Where is your D headed?</p>
<p>In addition to tuition insurance there is dorm insurance. You most likely have coverage for your kid’s stuff under your homeowner’s insurance policy but any claim for loss would be subject to your home policy deductible. There are a couple of companies out there that sell dorm insurance. As I recall from the 2011 thread, it comes with a small ($50) to no deductible and covers loss and damage from theft, drops and spills (excellent for college kids). I don’t recall the names but parents whose older kids had it and needed it said claims were fairly easy and the overall premiums were very reasonable. I will hunt for the information this coming weekend.</p>
<p>Just 1 more day and 2 evenings to go before we return to home port and disembark for the dorm room planning/shopping shore excursion.</p>
<p>Who is going to carry home the Margarita machine???</p>
<p>@jeannemar Usually you have to pay a deposit and that makes it definite – is he paying it without you? What school?</p>
<p>My S is one of those hoodie types (and in fact, it is usually around his waist). But he will wear a coat in a blizzard, and with the wind in Rochester he has already said he’ll probably wear thermal underwear. He already wears day hikers (no ankle support but plenty of tread). It can be a fashion statement. Couple years ago my boys got into warm scarves – probably the Sherlock influence. </p>
<p>@ct1417 My first winter in Ithaca I turned on the electric blanket in October and it stayed on through March or April. I hated hats but wore a bulky down coat, hiking boots, and huge wool sweaters. I’m a Florida girl but I survived (without any fashion sense).</p>
<p>I confirmed that there is no deposit. That’s what he told me but I just have info overload from CC! He will be attending Middle Tennessee State in their Recording Industry Major. OOS for us but part of the Academic Common Market.</p>
<p>@MImama, she is headed to Yale! I truly wished she had picked another school on the list. I feel she needs to get out of NHV…she went to BDD last week & they wowed her! I was really shocked when she made the final decision. Yale is the last place I would have thought she would have picked!!</p>
<p>@crowlady – I don’t know if we overlapped, but I recall the strange fashion of wearing one’s father’s old overcoat. with the cuffs turned back (the way J. Crew has been showing blazers for the past year). Oddly, I recall wearing that for quite a while…no hat, can’t recall scarf, those silly Bean boots and one of the dozens of turtleneck/sweater combos. No one rode a bus to class, and that climb up Libe Slope got the blood running in the morning. I really had no opinion on winter or the cold until after those winters in Ithaca. Now I wouldn’t dream of leaving home for five minutes w/o being fully bundled. I still recall the freak snowstorm in May of '84.</p>
<p>I realize that I will not be able to convince my son of the need for warm gear until he is there in person in the cold. Fortunately, we will be up for parents’ weekend and then he will be home three weeks later for Thanksgiving, so we can outfit when he finally concedes the need.</p>
<p>@Agentninetynine – I may need to find one of those heat deflecting jackets for myself!</p>
<p>@mathmomvt – I will be borrowing your idea of taping a content list to the lid of the box. I agree that it is a bit inconvenient to obtain things like lightbulbs. There was an IGA in Collegetown in my day, but that was replaced years ago. I used to walk down to the Commons to get my hair cut, which is why I am intrigued at the current furor about possible elimination of the free student bus pass. Granted, I didn’t have to down to the Commons every day.</p>
<p>Congratulations to NewHavenCTmom’s daughter! I am so glad that she made a decision and I am sure that you are proud and relieved even if you might have made a different choice for her.</p>
<p>@CT1417 I was there in May '84 but that whole first winter was a giant shock for me so I either blocked that snowstorm out of my memory or assumed it was normal (I lived on north campus and could slide slightly downhill to class in the snow). I barely remember riding the bus back uphill a few times later in my college career – I had never ridden a city bus before. Hardly ever left campus except to go to the outlying labs I worked in during the summers.</p>
<p>I’m debating how useful a bike will be at RIT. It’s very flat (compared to Ithaca!), and S could go for good rides off campus. But maybe it is too snowy and cold most of the school year.</p>
Time to do the same for D2.</p>